Phantom - Masquerade - Question

[clarky]

Posted: 4/14/06 at 3:06pm

I know this is a weir question, and I know the world doesn't need it , but I am curious, so I will ask this question:

Does anyone know, what is behind Christine's solo dance in Masquerade? I mean, is she running away, is she afraid, is she just having a ball?

Everytime I see that show, at that point I am kinda "why are you dancing around now?"

Anyway, if someone, knows and would like to share......Cheers!

[misto625]

Posted: 4/14/06 at 5:05pm

I think she is running away from the Phantom, or trying to, but she can't and every man there reminds of her of the Phantom, spinning her around till she gets confused. I'm not saying this as fact, just offering an idea.

[Sant]

Posted: 4/14/06 at 6:14pm

In the booklet (which includes the lyrics and some footnotes) the moment is described:

"Dance section, in which CHRISTINE, almost coquettish, almost jittery, goes from man to man. But too many of her partners seem to be replicas of the PHANTOM, and each spins her with increasing force. Eventually RAOUL rescues her and holds her tightly. He whirls her back into the dance, as the music heads towards its climax"

And then they start to sing the song on the staircase.

[EganFan2]

Posted: 4/14/06 at 6:15pm

In the libretto, the stage directions say that Christine "almost coquettish, almost jittery dances from man to man". Each of them are supposed to spin her with increasing force until Raoul brings her back into the dance. So I guess, yeah, they're supposed to be Phantomish, and threatening.

[broadwayboy430]

Posted: 4/14/06 at 7:21pm

speeking of Christine dancing-Have all Christines danced in the Opera Populare Ballet on pointe? I know of some that have (the ones that I have seen). If all have, does anybody know if all Christines have studyed ballet for a while, because getting en pointe takes years.

[Joshua488]

Posted: 4/14/06 at 7:43pm

Sandra Joseph did not dance on pointe, so, obviously, the actress playing Christine is not required to.

[WickedGeek28]

Posted: 4/14/06 at 7:59pm

Joseph just probably got tired of it lol.

That's interesting, that's something I wondered after seeing it but never thought of again.

Thanks for the quotes!

[Becky2]

Posted: 4/14/06 at 7:59pm

Since it's only one number, they usually correograph the dance so at least Christine's character does not have to dance on pointe.

[Joshua488]

Posted: 4/14/06 at 8:46pm

Are we thinking of the same number? I'm thinking of in the beginning before "Think of Me." All of the other Opéra Populaire dancers are on pointe, but if you pay attention to Christine (which, as an audience member, you "shouldn't be" because the focus of the scene is elsewhere), you'll notice that she probably isn't dancing on pointe, even though she's wearing the shoes and all of the other dancers are on pointe.

[broadwayboy430]

Posted: 4/16/06 at 5:55pm

Yeah, I was thinkin of before "Think of Me". Though I did see Sandra at the beginning of her run and she was in fact en pointe, dot just on demi...Demi-pointe is REALLY hard to achieve with pointe shoes unless they are REALLY broken in.

[Joshua488]

Posted: 4/16/06 at 6:45pm

Yes, she danced on demi-pointe. Perhaps her shoes were just made to look like pointe shoes? She had all of the steps and choreography down, but whenever the dancers would go on pointe, she'd stay in demi-pointe.

[Sant]

Posted: 4/17/06 at 6:13am

No, the actress playing Christine is not required to do the dance on pointe. That's maybe why she's not in the front line during this part of the dance section...

[algy]

Posted: 4/17/06 at 6:30am

It's certainly not a requirement in the London show, as I believe of the 3 or 4 Christines only 1 can do pointe work.

[clarky]

Posted: 4/17/06 at 8:36am

In the beginning of the production in New York, Christine danced the whole Hannibal-Dance, means, starts in the group after Carlotta's first entrance. Now she comes much later in the scene. I guess that means, the dance abilitys of the actress playing Christine has been trimmed. If I remember correctly in the Canadian production Christine had to dance the whole Hannibal as well.

In the Vienna Production Christine doesn't dance the solo in Masquerade at all, because the actress who originated the role in Vienna couldn't dance at all.

[AlmostFamous]

Posted: 4/17/06 at 9:45am

If the Christine does not go on pointe they are wearing shoes that look like Pointe Shoes. I have heard that these fake pointe shoes are really uncomfortable.

[Phantess]

Posted: 4/17/06 at 11:02am

Yes there are things called demi pointe shoes. They have a hard toe box but no shank so it's pretty hard if not impossible to go up on your toes. But the idea is that they look and feel like real shoes.

Rebecca Pitcher
Julie Hanson
Marie Danvers

all dance on pointe